Large amplitude radially symmetric spots and gaps in a dryland ecosystem model

We construct far-from-onset radially symmetric spot and gap solutions in a two-component dryland ecosystem model of vegetation pattern formation on flat terrain, using spatial dynamics and geometric singular perturbation theory. We draw connections between the geometry of the spot and gap solutions with that of traveling and stationary front solutions in the same model. In particular, we demonstrate the instability of spots of large radius by deriving an asymptotic relationship between a critical eigenvalue associated with the spot and a coefficient which encodes the sideband instability of a nearby stationary front. Furthermore, we demonstrate that spots are unstable to a range of perturbations of intermediate wavelength in the angular direction, provided the spot radius is not too small. Our results are accompanied by numerical simulations and spectral computations

A Compact Millimeter-Wavelength Fourier-Transform Spectrometer

We have constructed a Fourier-transform spectrometer (FTS) operating between 50 and 330 GHz with minimum volume (355 x260 x64 mm) and weight (13 lbs) while maximizing optical throughput (100 $\mathrm{mm}^2$ sr) and optimizing the spectral resolution (4 GHz). This FTS is designed as a polarizing Martin-Puplett interferometer with unobstructed input and output in which both input polarizations undergo interference. The instrument construction is simple with mirrors milled on the box walls and one motorized stage as the single moving element. We characterize the performance of the FTS, compare the measurements to an optical simulation, and discuss features that relate to details of the FTS design. The simulation is also used to determine the tolerance of optical alignments for the required specifications. We detail the FTS mechanical design and provide the control software as well as the analysis code online.Comment: Submitted to Applied Optics. [Copyright 2019 Optical Society of America]. Users may use, reuse, and build upon the article, or use the article for text or data mining, so long as such uses are for non-commercial purposes and appropriate attribution is maintained. All other rights are reserve

Targeting a Pre-mRNA Structure with Bipartite Antisense Molecules Modulates Tau Alternative Splicing

Approximately 15% of human genetic diseases are estimated to involve dysregulation of alternative pre-mRNA splicing. Antisense molecules designed to alter these and other splicing events typically target continuous linear sequences of the message. Here, we show that a structural feature in a pre-mRNA can be targeted by bipartite antisense molecules designed to hybridize with the discontinuous elements that flank the structure and thereby alter splicing. We targeted a hairpin structure at the boundary between exon 10 and intron 10 of the pre-mRNA of tau. Mutations in this region that are associated with certain forms of frontotemporal dementia, destabilize the hairpin to cause increased inclusion of exon 10. Via electrophoretic mobility shift and RNase protection assays, we demonstrate that bipartite antisense molecules designed to simultaneously interact with the available sequences that immediately flank the tau pre-mRNA hairpin do indeed bind to this structured region. Moreover, these agents inhibit exon 10 splicing and reverse the effect of destabilizing disease-causing mutations, in both in vitro splicing assays and cell culture. This general bipartite antisense strategy could be employed to modulate other splicing events that are regulated by RNA secondary structure

The Bro1-Domain Protein, EGO-2, Promotes Notch Signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans

In Caenorhabditis elegans, as in other animals, Notch-type signaling mediates numerous inductive events during development. The mechanism of Notch-type signaling involves proteolytic cleavage of the receptor and subsequent transport of the receptor intracellular domain to the nucleus, where it acts as a transcriptional regulator. Notch-type signaling activity is modulated by post-translational modifications and endocytosis of ligand and receptor. We previously identified the ego-2 (enhancer of glp-1) gene as a positive regulator of germline proliferation that interacts genetically with the GLP-1/Notch signaling pathway in the germline. Here, we show that ego-2 positively regulates signaling in various tissues via both GLP-1 and the second C. elegans Notch-type receptor, LIN-12. ego-2 activity also promotes aspects of development not known to require GLP-1 or LIN-12. The EGO-2 protein contains a Bro1 domain, which is known in other systems to localize to certain endosomal compartments. EGO-2 activity in the soma promotes GLP-1 signaling in the germline, consistent with a role for EGO-2 in production of active ligand. Another C. elegans Bro1-domain protein, ALX-1, is known to interact physically with LIN-12/Notch. We document a complex phenotypic interaction between ego-2 and alx-1, consistent with their relationship being antagonistic with respect to some developmental processes and agonistic with respect to others

Primary scene responses by Helicopter Emergency Medical Services in New South Wales Australia 2008–2009

BACKGROUND: Despite numerous studies evaluating the benefits of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) in primary scene responses, little information exists on the scope of HEMS activities in Australia. We describe HEMS primary scene responses with respect to the time taken, the distances travelled relative to the closest designated trauma hospital and the receiving hospital; as well as the clinical characteristics of patients attended. METHODS: Clinical service data were retrospectively obtained from three HEMS in New South Wales between July 2008 and June 2009. All available primary scene response data were extracted and examined. Geographic Information System (GIS) based network analysis was used to estimate hypothetical ground transport distances from the locality of each primary scene response to firstly the closest designated trauma hospital and secondly the receiving hospital. Predictors of bypassing the closest designated trauma hospital were analysed using logistic regression. RESULTS: Analyses included 596 primary missions. Overall the HEMS had a median return trip time of 94min including a median of 9min for activation, 34min travelling to the scene, 30min on-scene and 25min transporting patients to the receiving hospital. 72% of missions were within 100km of the receiving hospital and 87% of missions were in areas classified as ‘major cities’ or ‘inner regional’. The majority of incidents attended by HEMS were trauma-related, with road trauma the predominant cause (44%). The majority of trauma patients (81%) had normal physiology at HEMS arrival (RTS = 7.84). We found 62% of missions bypassed the closest designated trauma hospital. Multivariate predictors of bypass included: age; presence of spinal or burns trauma; the level of the closest designated trauma hospital; the transporting HEMS. CONCLUSION: Our results document the large distances travelled by HEMS in NSW, especially in rural areas. The high proportion of HEMS missions that bypass the closest designated trauma hospital is a seldom mentioned benefit of HEMS transport. These results along with the characteristics of patients attended and the time HEMS take to complete primary scene responses are useful in understanding the benefit HEMS provides and the services it replaces

Metabolic Syndrome Derived from Principal Component Analysis and Incident Cardiovascular Events: The Multi Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) and Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC).

Background. The NCEP metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a combination of dichotomized interrelated risk factors from predominantly Caucasian populations. We propose a continuous MetS score based on principal component analysis (PCA) of the same risk factors in a multiethnic cohort and compare prediction of incident CVD events with NCEP MetS definition. Additionally, we replicated these analyses in the Health, Aging, and Body composition (Health ABC) study cohort. Methods and Results. We performed PCA of the MetS elements (waist circumference, HDL, TG, fasting blood glucose, SBP, and DBP) in 2610 Caucasian Americans, 801 Chinese Americans, 1875 African Americans, and 1494 Hispanic Americans in the multiethnic study of atherosclerosis (MESA) cohort. We selected the first principal component as a continuous MetS score (MetS-PC). Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the association between MetS-PC and 5.5 years of CVD events (n = 377) adjusting for age, gender, race, smoking and LDL-C, overall and by ethnicity. To facilitate comparison of MetS-PC with the binary NCEP definition, a MetS-PC cut point was chosen to yield the same 37% prevalence of MetS as the NCEP definition (37%) in the MESA cohort. Hazard ratio (HR) for CVD events were estimated using the NCEP and Mets-PC-derived binary definitions. In Cox proportional models, the HR (95% CI) for CVD events for 1-SD (standard deviation) of MetS-PC was 1.71 (1.54-1.90) (P < 0.0001) overall after adjusting for potential confounders, and for each ethnicity, HRs were: Caucasian, 1.64 (1.39-1.94), Chinese, 1.39 (1.06-1.83), African, 1.67 (1.37-2.02), and Hispanic, 2.10 (1.66-2.65). Finally, when binary definitions were compared, HR for CVD events was 2.34 (1.91-2.87) for MetS-PC versus 1.79 (1.46-2.20) for NCEP MetS. In the Health ABC cohort, in a fully adjusted model, MetS-PC per 1-SD (Health ABC) remained associated with CVD events (HR = 1.21, 95%CI 1.12-1.32) overall, and for each ethnicity, Caucasian (HR = 1.24, 95%CI 1.12-1.39) and African Americans (HR = 1.16, 95%CI 1.01-1.32). Finally, when using a binary definition of MetS-PC (cut point 0.505) designed to match the NCEP definition in terms of prevalence in the Health ABC cohort (35%), the fully adjusted HR for CVD events was 1.39, 95%CI 1.17-1.64 compared with 1.46, 95%CI 1.23-1.72 using the NCEP definition. Conclusion. MetS-PC is a continuous measure of metabolic syndrome and was a better predictor of CVD events overall and in individual ethnicities. Additionally, a binary MetS-PC definition was better than the NCEP MetS definition in predicting incident CVD events in the MESA cohort, but this superiority was not evident in the Health ABC cohort

Abstract 12373: Process Evaluation of a Vanguard Phase of a Trial for a Smartphone- App Based Model Of Care

Background: Home-based monitoring and timely intervention of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and heart failure (HF) can improve patient outcomes. TeleClinical Care (TCC-Cardiac) is a smartphone app-based model of care designed to improve community-based care. We conducted a process evaluation within a multi-centre RCT to elucidate barriers and facilitators to implementation. Methods Patients were enrolled during their hospital stay and provided with an app and Bluetooth observation monitors. Patients were encouraged to engage with the app regularly (i.e. exercise program, record their observations). Data were monitored by a dedicated Remote Monitoring Solution team (RMS), and information was made available to the care team. Interviews were conducted with patients at 6 months, and with 3 RMS members, 2 HF nurses and 1 cardiologist. Results Of the 35 enrolled patients, 27 (77%) had a diagnosis of ACS and 8 (23%) of HF. Patient engagement with the app was good overall, with adherence tailing off over time, demonstrated by median (IQI) patient self-BP recordings of 93.3% (90-100%) at 1-month compared to 70% (43-90%) at 6-months. Older patients had higher levels of adoption (>50%), with a median age amongst high adopters of 67-years (IQI 40-82) compared to 63-years (IQI 50-87) for medium adopters (50-70%) and 44-years (IQI 33-53) amongst low adopters (<50%) (p=0.0184) (Fig 1). Interviews revealed good acceptance of Telehealth and remote monitoring. Higher motivation and health and tech literacy facilitated adherence. 21% of participants meeting inclusion criteria but not enrolled did not possess a smartphone. GPs did not engage. Other health professionals identified the time requirements of supporting less tech-literate patients and responding to alerts as potential barriers to adoption. However, most valued the potential for early detection and prevention of deterioration of this cohort of patients. Conclusion TCC-cardiac was generally considered an acceptable and viable model of care by patients and health professionals. Adherence was best amongst older patients with the highest potential to benefit. Designing strategies to overcome barriers to adherence in younger patients and GPs, combined with adequate tech support is recommended

Recent Advances in Studies of Genomic DNA Methylation and Its Involvement in Regulating Drought Stress Response in Crops

As global arid conditions worsen and groundwater resources diminish, drought stress has emerged as a critical impediment to plant growth and development globally, notably causing declines in crop yields and even the extinction of certain cultivated species. Numerous studies on drought resistance have demonstrated that DNA methylation dynamically interacts with plant responses to drought stress by modulating gene expression and developmental processes. However, the precise mechanisms underlying these interactions remain elusive. This article consolidates the latest research on the role of DNA methylation in plant responses to drought stress across various species, focusing on methods of methylation detection, mechanisms of methylation pattern alteration (including DNA de novo methylation, DNA maintenance methylation, and DNA demethylation), and overall responses to drought conditions. While many studies have observed significant shifts in genome-wide or gene promoter methylation levels in drought-stressed plants, the identification of specific genes and pathways involved remains limited. This review aims to furnish a reference for detailed research into plant responses to drought stress through epigenetic approaches, striving to identify drought resistance genes regulated by DNA methylation, specific signaling pathways, and their molecular mechanisms of action.</p

Vitamin D3 and 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 Content of Retail White Fish and Eggs in Australia

Dietary vitamin D may compensate for inadequate sun exposure; however, there have been few investigations into the vitamin D content of Australian foods. We measured vitamin D3 and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3) in four species of white fish (barramundi, basa, hoki and king dory), and chicken eggs (cage and free-range), purchased from five Australian cities. Samples included local, imported and wild-caught fish, and eggs of varying size from producers with a range of hen stocking densities. Raw and cooked samples were analysed using high performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array. Limits of reporting were 0.2 and 0.1 µg/100 g for vitamin D3 and 25(OH)D3, respectively. The vitamin D3 content of cooked white fish ranged from &lt;0.1 to 2.3 µg/100 g, and the 25(OH)D3 content ranged from 0.3 to 0.7 µg/100 g. The vitamin D3 content of cooked cage eggs ranged from 0.4 to 0.8 µg/100 g, and the 25(OH)D3 content ranged from 0.4 to 1.2 µg/100 g. The vitamin D3 content of cooked free-range eggs ranged from 0.3 to 2.2 µg/100 g, and the 25(OH)D3 content ranged from 0.5 to 0.8 µg/100 g. If, as has been suggested, 25(OH)D3 has five times greater bioactivity than vitamin D3, one cooked serve (100 g) of white fish, and one cooked serve of cage or free-range eggs (120 g) may provide 50% or 100%, respectively, of the current guidelines for the adequate intake of vitamin D (5 µg) for Australians aged 1-50 years